Conservative Ripon councillor Alan Skidmore, deputy leader of Harrogate Borough Council, said he had now received assurances that married quarters in the city would be retained by the MOD.

He said: "The number of children and families won't drop as it is only the regiment that will move but that will still be a loss so we are going to use this money to study what we can do about the effects it will have on the local economy.

"We also have to look at what we can do to use the land and the buildings being vacated by the army."